MONROE - As one door inches toward closing for Monroe High School senior Sydney Mathiason, another one opens.
Mathiason is entering her third year as the starting middle hitter for the Monroe volleyball team. She has been named honorable mention-Badger South All-Conference two straight years, and she's determined to make her final season the best one yet.
"It's very bittersweet," Mathiason said. "It's the beginning of the end."
While the 6-foot-1 Mathiason has excelled at volleyball, the door that is opening for her is in basketball. She received a Division I college basketball scholarship to Eastern Illinois University over the summer. She plans to pursue a career as a doctor.
"I'm not sure if I will play basketball in college," Mathiason said. "I want to be a doctor."
Mathiason has been a three-sport standout at Monroe in volleyball, basketball and track and field, and she played soccer her freshman year.
The Monroe volleyball team is coming off a season in which the Cheesemakers finished 15-16 and 1-5 in the Badger South. The Cheesemakers took River Valley to five sets last year before losing a heartbreaker in a WIAA Division 2 regional match.
"I think it was really motivating to be able to go five sets against them," Mathiason said. "We won our first conference game for the first time in a few years. That is more motivation to go out there and to win more conference games. We definitely want to win the four- and five-set matches. I would like to win another conference game and hopefully win a couple when it comes time for the tournament."
Mathiason not only uses her height to her advantage in volleyball matches but also her court awareness.
"She's just really good at timing the ball," Monroe senior setter Alysha Witt said of Mathiason. "She is really good at getting to different sets that may not be right to her."
Mathiason had a knack for defending the middle part of the net as a blocker while improving as a hitter. A smashing kill can be a momentum-changer in volleyball. It's a role she has excelled at and grown to love.
"You get to hit it and you are always up front and in the play all the time," she said.
Mathiason had a busy summer training. She played with her Monroe teammates in the Argyle volleyball league on Mondays. Mathiason played on a Wisconsin Academy AAU basketball team coached by Stoughton's Brad Pickett throughout the summer. She played with the Cheesemakers girls basketball team in the Monroe Summer League on Tuesdays and in a Janesville league one of the two Thursdays the Cheesemakers played. Mathiason also took a three-week trip to Costa Rica for her Spanish class.
She's dedicated and determined to make the most of her final volleyball season. Mathiason said she has improved her timing hitting at the net.
"I can hit the ball harder and get it where I want it to go," she said.
She has devoted her time to becoming a better volleyball and basketball player. In the past she has been a humble, quiet and confident player. Now, she is taking on a bigger role as a senior leader.
"I have learned to be a more vocal leader," Mathiason said.
Monroe opens the season in a nonconference match at Evansville on Tuesday. The Cheesemakers then host Monona Grove on Thursday and a tournament Saturday.
"I think the biggest challenge will be staying positive especially when things don't go our way," Mathiason said.
Mathiason said one of her hobbies is reading fiction books but admits, "I don't have too much time outside of sports."
She's confident the Cheesemakers can weather any storm or obstacle that comes their way.
"Just playing and being together really helped gaining experience and confidence before the season starts," she said of the summer league in Argyle. "We have really good chemistry. We just try to spend as much time together as we can."
Mathiason is entering her third year as the starting middle hitter for the Monroe volleyball team. She has been named honorable mention-Badger South All-Conference two straight years, and she's determined to make her final season the best one yet.
"It's very bittersweet," Mathiason said. "It's the beginning of the end."
While the 6-foot-1 Mathiason has excelled at volleyball, the door that is opening for her is in basketball. She received a Division I college basketball scholarship to Eastern Illinois University over the summer. She plans to pursue a career as a doctor.
"I'm not sure if I will play basketball in college," Mathiason said. "I want to be a doctor."
Mathiason has been a three-sport standout at Monroe in volleyball, basketball and track and field, and she played soccer her freshman year.
The Monroe volleyball team is coming off a season in which the Cheesemakers finished 15-16 and 1-5 in the Badger South. The Cheesemakers took River Valley to five sets last year before losing a heartbreaker in a WIAA Division 2 regional match.
"I think it was really motivating to be able to go five sets against them," Mathiason said. "We won our first conference game for the first time in a few years. That is more motivation to go out there and to win more conference games. We definitely want to win the four- and five-set matches. I would like to win another conference game and hopefully win a couple when it comes time for the tournament."
Mathiason not only uses her height to her advantage in volleyball matches but also her court awareness.
"She's just really good at timing the ball," Monroe senior setter Alysha Witt said of Mathiason. "She is really good at getting to different sets that may not be right to her."
Mathiason had a knack for defending the middle part of the net as a blocker while improving as a hitter. A smashing kill can be a momentum-changer in volleyball. It's a role she has excelled at and grown to love.
"You get to hit it and you are always up front and in the play all the time," she said.
Mathiason had a busy summer training. She played with her Monroe teammates in the Argyle volleyball league on Mondays. Mathiason played on a Wisconsin Academy AAU basketball team coached by Stoughton's Brad Pickett throughout the summer. She played with the Cheesemakers girls basketball team in the Monroe Summer League on Tuesdays and in a Janesville league one of the two Thursdays the Cheesemakers played. Mathiason also took a three-week trip to Costa Rica for her Spanish class.
She's dedicated and determined to make the most of her final volleyball season. Mathiason said she has improved her timing hitting at the net.
"I can hit the ball harder and get it where I want it to go," she said.
She has devoted her time to becoming a better volleyball and basketball player. In the past she has been a humble, quiet and confident player. Now, she is taking on a bigger role as a senior leader.
"I have learned to be a more vocal leader," Mathiason said.
Monroe opens the season in a nonconference match at Evansville on Tuesday. The Cheesemakers then host Monona Grove on Thursday and a tournament Saturday.
"I think the biggest challenge will be staying positive especially when things don't go our way," Mathiason said.
Mathiason said one of her hobbies is reading fiction books but admits, "I don't have too much time outside of sports."
She's confident the Cheesemakers can weather any storm or obstacle that comes their way.
"Just playing and being together really helped gaining experience and confidence before the season starts," she said of the summer league in Argyle. "We have really good chemistry. We just try to spend as much time together as we can."
